FOCUS Contents
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
NUMBER 198 | OCTOBER 2016 INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A BETTER AUSTRALIA WE NEED NEW INITIATIVES TO OPTIMISE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING 2017 NOMINATIONS NEW FORMAT AND CATEGORIES CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Nominations for the 2017 Clunies Ross Awards close Friday 28 October 2016 The new format and specific categories introduced in 2016 will be continued in 2017. Over the past quarter of a century the Awards have recognised contributions by dedicated individuals to the application of technology for the benefit of Australia, highlighting ATSE’s commitment to fostering innovation and commercialisation and acclaiming the work of those taking the nation’s leading technologies to the marketplace. Winners of the 2017 Clunies Ross Awards will be announced at the 2017 Innovation Dinner. IF YOU WISH TO NOMINATE A 2017 AWARD CANDIDATE GO TO THE ATSE WEBSITE, www.atse.org.au/cluniesrossawards CATEGORIES CRITERIA The three award categories are: The award criteria are: 1. The award winner has made an identifiably significant Clunies Ross Entrepreneur of the Year Award contribution to the advancement of industry and/or For those who have been responsible for the creation of a the community through the application of science and product or service with a financially successful outcome, in technology for the economic, social and environmental either an early stage or mature company environment with benefit of Australia; demonstrated impact for Australia. 2. The award winner is able to demonstrate the impact Clunies Ross Knowledge Commercialisation Award or potential impact of the technology-based innovation; For those who have been responsible for a technology and which has been commercialised, most likely by licensing, 3. The award winner has advanced the promotion with a financially successful outcome. of innovators and community awareness Clunies Ross Innovation Award of technological innovation. For those who have been responsible for the adoption of a technology, at a stage where the financial outcomes are yet to be realised and/or the benefits are of a measurable broad community nature. AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING Clunies Ross Nomination_A4_2017.indd 1 14/09/2016 3:12 PM OCTOBER 2016 | FOCUS Contents 12 ATSE names key aspects for We need better decisions research roadmap and long-term planning 13 What will cars be in 2030? What roads will we need? 3 By David Singleton 16 WLAN pioneers honoured again 21 Elizabeth Broderick is 2016 Orator Infrastructure for 22 ATSE argues against funding a warmer planet proposals 5 23 SA secondary science By Tom Connor teaching award 24 ATSE finalises REA report 24 Transforming towards zero emissions We need to recognise 26 STELR is STEM – and it’s in the water-energy nexus more than 500 schools 48 ATSE in Focus 9 By Tony Wong, Bruce Godfrey and Steven Kenway Front cover photo: We need new initiatives (Photo: iStock). PUBLISHER Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering Address: Level 1, 1 Bowen Crescent, Melbourne ATSE Focus is produced to stimulate discussion and public policy initiatives on key topics of interest to the Postal Address: Academy and the nation. Many articles are contributed by ATSE Fellows with expertise in these areas. Opinion GPO Box 4055, Melbourne, Victoria 3001 articles will be considered for publication. Items between 800 and 1400 words are preferred. Please address Telephone: 03 9864 0900 comments, suggested topics and article for publication to [email protected]. Facsimile: 03 9864 0930 Email: [email protected] Deadline for the receipt of copy for next edition of Focus is 4 November 2016. CEO: Dr Margaret Hartley FTSE Editor: Bill Mackey COPYRIGHT This publication contains copyright material. Some of the material is owned by Australian Academy of Print Post Publication No 341403/0025 Technological Sciences and Engineering Ltd ACN 008 520 394 (ATSE) and some material is owned by others. ISSN 1326-8708 All copyright and other intellectual property rights in the materials remain with the owner. No material in this Design and production: publication may be copied (except as legally allowed) or further disseminated without the express and written Coretext 03 9670 1168 www.coretext.com.au permission of the holder of that copyright, with the exception of copying for educational purposes. Copyright © ATSE 2016 www.atse.org.au 1 Our vision is to create sustainability and excellence in Australia’s power engineering. What is the API The Australian Power Institute (API) is a not for profit national organisation established by the Australian power industry to boost the quality and numbers of power engineering graduates with the skills and motivation for a career in the energy industry which encompasses: - Generation, transmission and distribution utilities - Manufacturers and suppliers to the industry - Consultants to the industry - End users of electricity in their operations. Value Proposition To deliver a sustainable supply of highly skilled power engineering professionals working effectively to meet the challenges of creating Australia’s new energy future, and underpin the technical and commercial success of member companies in the energy sector. The key objectives of API are to achieve the following: - Provide a sustainable supply of quality power engineering graduates to industry - University power engineering teaching and learning provides relevant industry skills - Value added continuing professional development programs - A respected organisation leading the national development of power engineering skills. Further Information Contact - Mike Griffin (Chief Executive) 6 0419 643 795 [email protected] www.api.edu.au and www.powerengineering.org.au OCTOBER 2016 | FOCUS BY DAVID SINGLETON [email protected] We need better decisions and long-term planning INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A BETTER AUSTRALIA Australia’s lack of transparency in infrastructure decision-making has often led to inefficiency and community distrust – and constrained informed debate. The pace at which urban with a backlog of infrastructure investment ¢creating platforms to engage the public in development is happening that has been – and will continue to be discussions about investment decisions; T across the world in the 21st – exacerbated by population growth, by ¢creating greater transparency around century is intense. increasing demand and by the impacts of spending; Highly concentrated climate change. ¢incorporating environmental and social demographic growth in cities is one of the Australia’s lack of transparency in issues into decision-making; and greatest challenges that leaders face as they infrastructure decision-making has often led ¢partnering with the private sector to find look to protect the future of their nations in to inefficiency and community distrust, and new sources of funding and design ideas. the face of the global sustainability challenge. has constrained informed debate about the Robust infrastructure planning would There are few easy answers to the implied trade-offs: which projects, service allow industry to develop effective delivery question ‘What does it take to make cities outcomes, priorities, funding, and so on. plans and better workforce management, better?’, but many of the possible pathways To get the greatest value from future particularly in engineering. to better cities are intrinsically linked to infrastructure investments, leaders must think Economic, social and environmental infrastructure provision. more strategically about how to plan, fund benefits, such as jobs growth and creation, Cities that make wise infrastructure and implement these projects. reduced demand through efficiency, equity investments have proven success at meeting This could include: of public and economic assets and reduced future economic, environmental and social needs. Improved understanding of the Figure 1 Population projections of Australia’s capital cities interactions between infrastructure provision, Population size (million) the needs and aspirations of the population 10 served, and technology and sustainability 9 both now and into the future are essential for our nation’s prosperity. 8 In an Australian context, the combined 7 population of Australia’s capital cities will 6 grow by nearly 16 million by 2061, and the proportion of Australians living in a capital 5 city will significantly increase – from 66 per 4 cent in 2011 to 69.3 per cent in 2031, and 73.4 per cent in 2061. 3 These ‘medium’ projections suggest that the 2 population of Melbourne will grow to 8.6 million 1 by 2061, Sydney to 8.5 million, Perth to 5.5 million and Brisbane to 4.8 million (see Figure 1). 0 The implications of this population growth 2012 2022 2032 2042 2052 2062 for urban infrastructure needs will be significant. Sydney Adelaide Darwin As a consequence, Australia faces several Melbourne Perth Canberra difficult decades and must come to grips Brisbane Hobart SOURCE: AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, 2016 www.atse.org.au 3 FOCUS | OCTOBER 2016 from each other’s successes and failures, WHAT IS A CITIZEN JURY? infrastructure challenges can be overcome. The Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment says: Achieving this will involve continuing to ”Citizen juries involve the wider community in the decision-making process. Participants take advantage of the financial resources and are engaged as citizens with no formal alignments or allegiances rather than experts. Citizen innovation brought to the table by the private juries use a representative